GNFL 2024 season preview: Railways using grand final heartbreak as motivation to go further this year

Railways came painfully close to premiership glory last year, but they are using their grand final heartbreak as motivation for this season.

An 8-4 record saw Railways finish third last year, but their finals run almost took them all the way to the top. They fell to the Rams in overtime after a scoreboard controversy had the team believing they had won the game.

Now they are looking on to this season, with coach John Reynolds excited about the numbers they have had.

“We’ve had a really good pre-season actually, you’re always hoping on some large numbers, but I’ve been a lot more prepared this year than what I was last year,” he said.

Despite the controversial finish to the Blues’ season, Reynolds said they were not obsessing over the past and were using it as fuel for this season.

“We’re not going to sit and dwell on that one . . . but I want to highlight it to the guys, I want to remind them that sometimes you need a loss like that to push and drive yourself a little bit further,” he said.

“So we’ll use that as a bit of motivation, but we’re certainly not dwelling on the end result, we’ve moved on from that.”

As a second-year coach, Reynolds said he felt more prepared for this season and the team was set up for success.

“I had some time in the off-season to be able to touch base with some of our club people and get some feedback, and I’ve taken all those learnings in,” he said.

“Hopefully it has an effect on the field when we start seeing some results once we get on the track and start playing some games.”

With all the new blood coming into the club, Railways are keen to see the colts in action.

“I get very excited about that, probably one of the most satisfying parts of the job is dealing with the younger guys,” Reynolds said.

“Really jumped on board nice and early and try to get them involved, and let them know there will be an opportunity if they’re willing to put in the hard work.”

GLENN BARNDON PREDICTION: FOURTH

Railways’ performance in last year’s grand final was outstanding. They are consistent finals contenders and will enjoy a full season from Mitchell Boyle.

But they have lost a number of players including a couple of regular playmakers and goal kickers, onballer Dion Anthony and ruckman Ryan Letessier, so the Blues are now on the rebuild.